St. Modwen Homes visits Stoke-on-Trent pupils

St. Modwen Homes visited a Stoke-on-Trent primary school to teach pupils about staying safe on building sites and careers in the housebuilding industry.

Around 200 children aged between five and 11 at Heron Cross Primary School were given a lesson about the dangers and hazards which can be found on a construction site as well as the different roles people play to create a successful development.

The lesson was led by Senior Site Manager Carl Bradshaw, who is leading the team at Trentham Manor, where award-winning housebuilder St. Modwen Homes is building a range of new houses off Stanley Matthews Way. He was joined by Considerate Constructors’ Mascot, Honor Goodsite, who helped showcase the sorts of equipment people wear on site with a group of volunteers dressed up in hard hats, hi vis vests and protective gloves.

Mrs Shenton, headteacher at Heron Cross Primary School, said: “The children really enjoyed the visit from St. Modwen Homes and it was a fun and interactive way of delivering some important messages.

“Construction sites can look exciting to our pupils so it is important that they are made aware of just how dangerous they can be so they aren’t tempted to play on them. They were all excited about what they were shown so we may have some budding builders at Heron Cross.”

As part of the visit, students were also invited to take part in a competition to design a health and safety themed poster, with the most creative entries set to be showcased as part of the hoarding at Trentham Manor.

Carl Bradshaw from St. Modwen Homes said: “Making sure our sites are safe for everybody is our highest priority at St. Modwen Homes, and we always insist that our workers, contractors and other visitors to our sites follow our procedures and best practice to ensure they can be kept safe at all times.

“This visit was designed to teach children about how dangerous construction sites are to play on. It also gave us a great chance to inspire the children to think about working in the industry.

“Anybody can make a career in the construction industry, regardless of their gender or background. There are so many different jobs which demand all types of skillsets, right from the initial planning of a development all the way through to building the homes as well as selling them once they’re built, and the industry needs to ensure young people can see all the rewarding careers available.”

St. Modwen Homes voluntarily abides by the Considerate Constructors Scheme, which is designed to encourage best practice at construction sites to keep staff and visitors to the development safe, limit the impact of construction on the environment and respect the local community.